My daughter and I went on a short trip to Peru last week. Of course, the biggest attraction was the ancient Inca village high up in the Andes mountains. My daughter hiked 10 beautiful breathtaking miles to reach the Sun House at Machu Picchu. We met up in Aguas Calientes later that night and departed the next morning for a guided tour of Machu Picchu. It was very exciting to experience this magical place.

Another extraordinary experience was visiting a small town in the Sacred Valley where women have been taught the weaving techniques of their ancestors. Here’s a video clip from Planeterra.

The spokeswoman of the women’s weaving co-op took us step-by-step through the weaving process, from the fleece on the llamas and alpacas to the finished projects. The whole weaving community is sponsored by the non-profit organization, Planeterra. Our tour company, G Adventures, also supports this tourist opportunity for the locals.

One woman invited me to sit down at a bigger loom and guided me through several procedures. It was a very intricate design and I hoped that I wasn’t messing it up!

Later I purchased several gifts from her stall. She was so sweet, she even gave me a little knitted alpaca doll as a token of her friendship.

Using soap root to wash the dirty fleece

Fleece is dyed using natural dyes

I hope you have enjoyed their colorful outfits, their woven goods and the beautiful countryside in the photos that I’m sharing with you. I bought one of the traditional Inca outfits for a doll I have. I even made a Peruvian inspired outfit for the other toddler doll. They are a colorful reminder of my recent trip!

And for a grand finale! We were dressed up in traditional festival outfits by a sales clerk in a store in Cusco. She took several great photos of us in these beautiful costumes!

I know, I’d say that almost all the folks over 50 that live in the country dress in a traditional outfit, usually a full gathered solid color skirt, jacket or sweater, bolero hat, and of course a colorful woven shawl for carrying everything, including children.